Where will Kevin Kolb be next season?

The man groomed to replace Donovan McNabb as the franchise quarterback in Philadelphia, Kevin Kolb, normally has a brief chat with Michael Vick following games before slipping out of the locker room. He's not thrilled with how this thing turned out, but he's not the sulking type either.

With so many teams in need of a quarterback next season -- Vikings, Cardinals, Panthers, Seahawks, to name a few -- the Eagles will likely be all ears when it comes to a trade. If Vick takes the Eagles deep into the playoffs, he'll either receive a lucrative contract extension or the franchise tag -- if that ends up in the new CBA. The Eagles will want a first-round draft pick for Kolb, but that seems like a stretch at this point. Would they trade him for a second-rounder? Well, you have to remember that Kolb still has a lot of value to the Eagles because of Vick's refusal to slide when he's doing his thing in the open field.

ESPN's ultimate insider, Adam Schefter, addresses Kolb's future in his mailbag today. This is for ESPN Insiders only, but I managed to pirate his answer since editors aren't paying attention to me during the holidays:

"Kolb would be a great starting quarterback in Miami, Carolina, Minnesota, Arizona, San Francisco, Seattle -- in a lot of places," writes Schefter. "Problem is, the Eagles wouldn't trade him for anything less than a blockbuster deal. Nobody was willing to part with what it would have taken to get him last offseason and my hunch is no one will pull the trigger this offseason. My belief is Kolb will return to Philadelphia next season, along with Michael Vick, and teams probably will have to find quarterback help elsewhere."

Now what if Vick continues to play well, but the Eagles stumble in their first playoff game? I think there's at least a chance Philadelphia would go ahead and place the franchise tag on Vick and then attempt to trade him. If the Wilf family is willing to pay a 41-year-old grandfather millions of dollars per year, what would Zygi spend on a 31-year-old man coming off the most brilliant season of his career?